Arif Ali Consumer perception is of huge importance to many brands these days as companies strive to please all communities equally. Perception is particularly important within the LGBT community, as many choose only to support those companies that are ideologically friendly to LGBT lifestyles and issues.
Illustrating which brands are best received by the LGBT community was a facet of YourGov’s yearly brand index poll, which showed that iconic companies such as Amazon, Apple, and Netflix are among the most well-perceived among LGBT survey-respondents. While the reasons for individual rankings vary quite a bit, the results underline the importance making inclusivity a key factor in business models.
How Rankings Were Determined
YourGov’s ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between consumers and the companies they support by engendering a conversation on how these two groups reconcile beliefs and behaviors. Thanks to increasing consumer awareness, companies must undertake a more thoughtful approach when offering products and services.
To this end, YourGov determined company rankings based on what they’ve termed a “buzz score”. This involved asking self-identified LGBT participants to name any positive or negative info heard about a specific brand over the last two weeks. Participants could then give each brand a score ranging from 100 to -100.
Apple Is a Standout Brand in the Community
While Amazon came out on top of YourGov’s survey, Apple was an especially strong contender. Both the company itself and the iPhone ranked highly on the poll (YourGov gathers two different rankings for companies and their products), attributed mainly to CEO Tim Cook’s coming out last fall. Cook’s ardent LGBT advocacy is another factor in the company’s ranking, which falls in line with the beliefs of many in the community.
Also in the top ten were media companies like Netflix, HBO, and PBS. These high rankings were no doubt the result of more LGBT-friendly programming, which many viewers gravitated towards in view of the dearth of inclusive programming available from other outlets. This illustrates the importance of creating suitable programming for all viewers regardless of sexual orientation.
All-Inclusive Consumerism Is a Must
As illustrated by the above top brands, an inclusive consumer model is a must in this day and age. While in the past it may have been acceptable to overlook certain segments of the population, today’s consumer is much savvier and therefore more empowered. As a result, companies must make it a point to welcome all consumers into the fold, or risk losing out to businesses that get it right.
